Marvel: Little Genius - Chapter: 392 (Patreon)

In the laboratory, Mark was reluctantly engaging in a conversation with Shuri. Deep down, he was complaining that this girl was once again wasting his time that could be used to research the Third Magic.

"By the way, Mark, there's something you'll definitely be interested in. Recently, I made an astonishing discovery in the study of Vibranium. Do you want to know what it is?"

Shuri looked at Mark with anticipation, her expression resembling that of a child eager to show off a new toy to a friend, as if she were not the one revealing the secret but the one waiting for the content.

On the other hand, Mark, who was being questioned, had a calm expression on his face, as if he had not received any information from her words.

‘I really don't want to know what interesting little gadget you've found again. For me, the value of Vibranium is nowhere near as important as the Third Magic I'm currently researching. If I didn't know how to reject you without making you cry, I wouldn't want to spend time playing house with you…’

This was Mark's true inner thought at the moment, but even if his emotional intelligence were lower, he knew he couldn't say such things directly in front of Shuri, a young girl.

There was no way around it, so Mark could only cooperate and put on an eager expression as if he couldn't wait to find out, satisfying Shuri's desire to show off. "What astonishing discovery? Please tell me. I really want to know what the latest achievement of Wakanda's best Talent, Chief Scientist Princess Shuri, is!"

Although Mark's acting skills were terrible, Shuri, who had already been appeased by Mark's words, couldn't see any clues. Her small vanity had been satisfied, and she had a smug expression on her face as she directly shared her discovery with Mark.

"Aren't you researching how to materialize the soul and achieve eternal existence through the energy of the quantum realm? So, based on the information and data you've revealed to me during our usual conversations, I found that all the characteristics of Vibranium come from its own atomic structure, which maintains relative stasis eternally.

And based on this characteristic, I tried to introduce a small portion of the energy you gave me into Vibranium, and guess what I found out!?"

"What did you discover?" Mark, who was initially not very interested, changed his attitude when he heard that Shuri was also delving into quantum research. He became somewhat curious.

"I found that after introducing the energy into Vibranium, all the chemical bonds that originally maintained the atomic structure of the metal were completely broken. Vibranium's ability to perfectly rebound various forms of energy was also completely destroyed in this process.

But that's not the key point. What really surprised me is that after undergoing an alienation process with this energy, the resulting new metal seems to be a storage medium. By attaching it closely to the forehead, I can directly input and stably store my thoughts in it."

"What!? Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Mark was shocked, eagerly grabbing Princess Shuri's shoulders, hoping for a definite answer.

"No mistake, I've gone through dozens of experiments to confirm it. How could I be wrong? I am Princess Shuri, the smartest in the Wakandan Kingdom!" Shuri gave Mark the answer he wanted with a hint of coyness.

"That's amazing, truly amazing! You've brought me a huge surprise, Shuri!"

With the confirmation from Shuri, even someone as calm as Mark couldn't help but exclaim in excitement upon hearing this news. He eagerly embraced Princess Shuri, and the two of them joyfully spun around in the laboratory.

Blushing as Mark held her, Shuri appeared quite shy, but the joy in her eyes revealed that she didn't resist Mark's somewhat intimate gesture. In fact, she had been anticipating this moment for a long time.

After the celebration, Mark had only one thought in mind, "Incredible!"

It wasn't the fragrance of Princess Shuri herself but the feeling of "incredible" after being proven wrong. Mark hadn't expected Shuri to make such an important discovery in the research of Vibranium.

For others, and even for Shuri herself, the ability to directly store thoughts and ideas in Vibranium might not have any practical use. After all, the same thing could be stored in the most commonly used storage medium in modern society through brain-wave devices.

However, for Mark, Princess Shuri's discovery undoubtedly filled the last gap in his research on achieving the Third Magic. If he could back up his thoughts and memories without any intermediate devices or conversion processes, it would be like having backup insurance during the process of soul materialization. Even if any issues arose during the experiment, they could be repaired and restored through this backup, reducing the risks to almost zero!

Now, Mark couldn't wait to start working on the experimental application of the Third Magic that he had already calculated and deduced in his mind. After letting go of Princess Shuri, he didn't notice the blush on her cheek.

"Shuri, I have a very important experiment to try now, so I can't continue to accompany you. However, your discovery has been a tremendous help to me, and it has allowed me to make a significant breakthrough in the study of soul materialization.

Therefore, I promise you three wishes to repay your help after the experiment is completed. But for the next month, I may have to devote myself entirely to my research and won't be able to chat with you like this.

Also, I need Wakanda to sell me some Vibranium to complete the final step of this research. As for the price of the transaction, whether it's money or technology, I can agree to it. Please talk to your brother, T'Challa, about this matter when you return, and I'll have Baymax follow up on the details.

Alright, I need to start the experiment now. Don't forget what I told you, Shuri!"

Mark finished speaking, paying no attention to Shuri's reaction as he pushed her out of his laboratory, closed the door, and activated the security mode.

"Hmph! Stupid Mark! Really a blockhead! When I go back, I'll make my brother T'Challa take advantage of the Vibranium trade, just for treating me like this..."

Shuri, although talking tough, decided to complete the task Mark had given her. A young girl ensnared in the web of emotions is often hard to predict.

However, Mark had no idea that his earlier bad feeling wasn't unfounded. Thanos and his army were indeed about to descend upon Earth.

Small changes can be reversible, but larger ones are not. This was a rule Mark had summarized from his 22 years of experience in the Marvel Universe. However, experience-based assumptions sometimes lead people astray and make them overconfident.

Since Mark appeared in this world and influenced so many events, fate had already undergone unpredictable deviations and changes due to these small variables. Therefore, Mark's attempts to predict Thanos' arrival based on his memories as a time traveler were essentially meaningless. But this error in his experience-based thinking would bring him a painful lesson.

...

At the same time as Mark made breakthroughs in his Third Magic research, on the distant planet Xandar, the Nova Prime was commanding her Nova Corps in a difficult battle. Their formidable enemy was none other than the infamous Thanos himself, known throughout the entire universe!

Not long ago, Thanos had invaded the Dwarf Kingdom of Nidavellir and used the lives of all its residents to blackmail the Dwarf King Eitri, forcing him to create the artifact known as the Infinity Gauntlet, which would help Thanos control the power of the six Infinity Stones.

It should be noted that without the Infinity Gauntlet's assistance, even if Thanos managed to collect all the Infinity Stones, his body would not withstand the immense power they held, leading to severe injuries. The Infinity Gauntlet played a miraculous role in alleviating much of the stress, making it an essential tool for Thanos.

Now, with the Infinity Gauntlet in his possession, the only thing missing for Thanos were the Infinity Stones to be mounted on it. His first target was the Power Stone, which had been left on Xandar, guarded by the Nova Corps.

Thanos was feared by countless beings and powers throughout the universe, and even without any of the Infinity Stones in his possession, the Nova Corps was unable to hold their ground against him. Once Thanos acquired the Power Stone, at the moment Asgard faced Ragnarok, none of the Nine Realms would have the power to stop Thanos from realizing his ambitions as the chairman of the Population Commission.

While Thanos launched a massive attack on Xandar, Asgard found itself in a deep crisis as well. With the Allfather Odin's time running out, and the Queen Frigga joining him in the afterlife, Asgard no longer had the means to contain the presence of the Death Goddess, Hela. This most powerful of the Nine Realms fell entirely under Hela's control.

In an effort to resist Hela's tyranny, the Warriors Three of the Royal Palace, each leading their respective legions, engaged in a desperate battle against Hela. However, as long as they stood on Asgardian soil, Hela's power continued to grow with time. Despite their numerical advantage, the three warriors ultimately met their demise at the hands of Hela.

So, where were Loki, impersonating as King Odin, and Odin's son, Thor, at this critical moment?

As they were returning to Asgard from Earth using the Bifrost, they were caught in a temporal disturbance caused by Hela and ended up stranded on the Sakaar planet.

The good news was that Thor had a reunion with Dr. Banner, or rather the Hulk, on Sakaar.

Sakaar was a planet surrounded by the Cosmic Gate, located on the outskirts of known and unknown worlds, where everything lost in the vastness of the cosmos eventually found its way. Dr. Banner had initially been caught in a space-time rift due to the explosion of the space portal created by Max, and he ended up on Sakaar.

However, it wasn't all good news for Thor. The bad news was that the explosion had damaged all of Dr. Banner's devices and apparatus used to control his emotions. Their reunion might involve some rather philosophical discussions...

But the tragic part was that at this moment, the scattered and disjointed Avengers had no idea that a massive catastrophe loomed over their heads, and Infinity War had already begun...